Push and pull factors in migration

Push and pull factors in migration according to Everett S. Lee (1917-2007) are categories that demographers use to analyze human migration from former areas to new host locations. Lee's model divides factors causing migrations into two groups of factors: push and pull. Push factors are things that are unfavourable about the home area that one lives in, and pull factors are things that attract one to another host area.[1][2]

Factors

Push

  • Not enough jobs or opportunities
  • Famine or drought
  • Political fear of persecution
  • Poor medical care
  • Loss of wealth
  • Natural disasters
  • Death threats
  • Desire for more political or religious freedom
  • Pollution
  • Poor housing
  • Bullying
  • Discrimination
  • Poor chances of marrying
  • Contamination
  • War
  • Sickness

Pull

  • Job opportunities
  • Higher benefits
  • Better living conditions
  • Having more political or religious freedom
  • Enjoyment
  • Education
  • Better medical care
  • Attractive climates
  • Security
  • Family links
  • Better chances of marrying

Criticism

Sociology professor Hein de Haas has criticized the push-pull model for its inability to explain real world migration patterns.[3]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Lee, Everett S. (1966). "A Theory of Migration". Demography. 3 (1): 47–57. doi:10.2307/2060063. JSTOR 2060063. S2CID 46976641.
  2. ^ Guido Dorigo, and Waldo Tobler, "Push-pull migration laws." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 73.1 (1983): 1-17 online
  3. ^ de Haas, Hein (2021-02-24). "A theory of migration: the aspirations-capabilities framework". Comparative Migration Studies. 9 (1): 8. doi:10.1186/s40878-020-00210-4. ISSN 2214-594X. PMC 7902564. PMID 33680858.

Further reading

  • Azunre, Gideon Abagna, Richard Azerigyik, and Pearl Puwurayire. "Deciphering the drivers of informal urbanization by Ghana's urban poor through the lens of the push-pull theory." InPlaning Forum Vol. 18. (2021). online
  • Dorigo, Guido, and Waldo Tobler. "Push-pull migration laws." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 73.1 (1983): 1-17 online
  • Hoffmann, Ellen M., et al. "Is the push-pull paradigm useful to explain rural-urban migration? A case study in Uttarakhand, India." PloS one 14.4 (2019): e0214511. online
  • Khalid, Bilal, and Mariusz Urbański. "Approaches to understanding migration: a mult-country analysis of the push and pull migration trend." Economics & Sociology 14.4 (2021): 242–267. DOI:10.14254/2071-789X.2021/14-4/14
  • Lee, Everett S. (1966). "A Theory of Migration". Demography. 3 (1): 47–57. doi:10.2307/2060063. JSTOR 2060063. S2CID 46976641.
  • Yaro, Joseph A. "Development as push and pull factor in migration." Migration & Entwicklung (2008): 16+ online.